Tag Archives: Fan Review

The single-player story mode campaign in Star Wars Battlefront II takes place in the Star Wars galaxy, beginning around the time of Return of the Jedi, but largely between it and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Emperor Palpatine plots to lure an unsuspecting Rebel Alliance fleet into a trap using himself and the second Death Star, being constructed above the Forest Moon of Endor, as bait, seeking to crush the Rebellion against his Galactic Empire once and for all. The Imperial Special Forces commando unit Inferno Squad, led by Commander Iden Versio, daughter of Admiral Garrick Versio, and made up of Agents Gideon Hask and Del Meeko, is crucial to the success of this planned Battle of Endor, but the Empire underestimates the strength of the Rebellion as its fleet gathers at Sullust.

Plot
Iden Versio is being interrogated for the codes to unlock an Imperial transmission aboard a Rebel Mon Calamari Star Cruiser. She activates her droid, which sneaks to her cell and frees her. Iden had allowed herself to be captured in order to erase the Imperial transmission, which would reveal the Emperor’s plan at Endor. She successfully erases it, then escapes the ship by launching herself into space where she is intercepted by the Corvus, the flagship of Inferno Squad. Iden confirms the mission’s success to Gideon Hask and Del Meeko, other members of her squad.

Later on Endor, Iden, Hask, and Meeko secure the perimeter around the ruined shield generator, and watch with shock and horror as the second Death Star explodes. Vice Admiral Sloane orders a full retreat, and Inferno Squad recovers TIE fighters to escape the planet, which is being overrun by Rebel forces. The Corvus is attacked during their escape, but Inferno fends off Rebel bombers. Iden meets with her father, Admiral Garrick Versio, on his Star Destroyer Eviscerator.

Admiral Versio confirms to Iden that the Emperor has died. A messenger droid displays a hologram of the late Emperor issuing his last command: to begin Operation: Cinder. Admiral Versio sends Iden to an Imperial shipyard to protect Moff Raythe and his Star Destroyer Dauntless, which hosts experimental satellites vital to the success of Operation: Cinder. The Dauntless comes under attack from a Rebel Star Cruiser, but Iden is able to board it with Hask and disable its ion cannons. Afterwards, they are ordered to attack the Imperial shipyard in order to free the Star Destroyer from the locked clamps. Afterwards, the Dauntless opens fire on the Rebel cruiser, destroying it.

Meeko is sent to Pillio and ordered to destroy one of the Emperor’s hidden bases. He encounters Luke Skywalker, who helps him disarm the base’s defenses and fend off the local wildlife. They discover that the base contains the Emperor’s spoils of conquest. Meeko and Luke part amicably, and Meeko begins to question the Empire’s goals and motives.

Following this, Iden and Inferno Squad are sent to the Imperial-controlled world of Vardos, in order to retrieve Protectorate Gleb. As the satellites for Operation Cinder begin destroying the planet with terrible storms, Iden and Meeko try to evacuate the civilians in addition to Gleb, causing Agent Hask to betray them. Disillusioned by the Empire’s attack on Vardos, Iden and Meeko escape off world, now traitors to the Empire.

They seek out the Rebel Alliance and are taken to General Lando Calrissian, who gives them the choice to help stop Operation: Cinder, or to escape and make new lives for themselves. Choosing to help, they aid Leia Organa in protecting Naboo, destroying the satellites for Operation: Cinder and reactivating the Planet’s defenses. After the planet is liberated, Inferno Squad joins the New Republic.

Iden and Inferno Squad are then sent to Tadokana to find Han Solo, who was extracting an Imperial defector carrying critical data in hopes of liberating Kashyyyk and freeing the Wookiees. The data also reveals that Admiral Versio is commanding Imperial operations on Bespin and Sullust. Iden and Del infiltrate Bespin with the intent of capturing Admiral Versio, but he and Hask manage to escape. Meanwhile, Lando investigates the hidden Imperial weapons cache on Sullust, only to find a weapons factory which he destroys. These operations cripple the Imperial fleet, which makes a last stand at Jakku. During the battle, Iden shoots down Hask and boards the Eviscerator, intending to rescue her father. Admiral Versio decides to go down with his ship, and urges Iden to escape and live a new life. Iden takes an escape pod and reunites with Del at the end of the battle. The two embrace and kiss.

Many decades later, Del is captured on Pillio by Protectorate Gleb, who hands him over to Kylo Ren and the First Order. Ren uses his Force powers to interrogate Del, in order to find the location of the map leading to Luke Skywalker. Once Ren succeeds, he leaves Del in the custody of Hask, who survived getting shot down at Jakku. Hask expresses disgust at Del choosing to father a daughter with Iden instead of becoming a soldier and kills him. Hask then warns Gleb that the Republic cannot find out about “Project Resurrection” and orders her to leave the Corvus on Pillio as bait to lure Iden out of hiding.

Super Mario Odyssey is a platform game in which players control the titular protagonist, Mario, as he travels across many worlds on the Odyssey, his hat-shaped ship, in an effort to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser, who plans to marry her. The game sees Mario traveling to various worlds known as “Kingdoms”, which return to the free-roaming exploration-based level design featured in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, with each featuring unique designs ranging from photo-realistic cities to more fantasy-based worlds. Each kingdom has Mario searching for and clearing various objectives in order to obtain items known as Power Moons, which can power up the Odyssey and grant access to new worlds. Checkpoint flags littered throughout each world allow Mario to instantly warp to them once activated. Certain levels feature areas called “flat” zones, where Mario is placed in a side-scrolling environment similar to his appearance in the original Super Mario Bros.

In addition to Mario’s existing repertoire of moves, such as triple-jumping and wall-jumping, Mario is able to throw out his cap, which is possessed by a spirit named Cappy. The cap can be thrown in multiple directions to attack enemies and can also be used as a temporary platform. When the cap is thrown at certain objects, enemies, or non-playable characters, Mario is able to take possession of them, referred to as “capturing”, allowing him to use unique abilities. For example, Mario can possess a Bullet Bill to fly across large gaps, a bolt of electricity to climb up electric wires, and a tank to fire at enemies. Throughout the game, Mario can pick up coins, including ones unique to each kingdom, to be spent on items such as new hats and outfits, some of which are required for completing certain objectives. Mario loses ten coins if he dies, either by falling into a pit or taking damage. The game also features cooperative play, in which a second player takes control of Cappy and can attack enemies independently of Mario. The game features a photo mode that allows players to use a free-moving camera to take and save screenshots, with additional options such as filters and stickers. Use of the Odyssey-themed Mario, Peach, and Bowser Amiibo figurines each allow for special in-game abilities. Other Amiibo can be scanned to provide hints to finding Power Moons.

The player takes on the role of a Medjay named Bayek as he works to protect the people of the Ptolemaic Kingdom during a time of widespread upheaval: the Pharaoh, Ptolemy XIII, struggles to maintain his rule whilst harbouring ambitions of expanding his kingdom; his sister, the recently deposed Cleopatra, begins marshalling loyalist forces to launch a counter-coup against Ptolemy; and frequent incursions into the Kingdom by the Roman Republic under the command of Julius Caesar lead to fears of an imminent invasion. Bayek’s role as a Medjay brings him into contact with the secretive forces manipulating these events and sees him become the first Assassin.

Assassin’s Creed Origins is an action-adventure stealth game played from a third-person perspective. Players complete quests—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story, earn experience points, and acquire new skills. Outside of quests, players can freely roam the open world environment on foot, horseback, camel-back or boat to explore locations, complete optional side-quests and unlock weapons and equipment.

The “eagle vision” mode, which was used by the franchise to give players the ability to scout an area by highlighting enemies and objects, has been replaced by a Bonelli’s eagle named Senu as a companion. Players are able to take control of Senu and scout an area in advance, highlighting enemies which will then be visible when they return to controlling Bayek, the game’s main character. Players can also tame various predators which will serve as a companion for the players and assist them against enemies. Naval combat, underwater exploration and tomb raiding return to the series. However, unlike previous games in the series, Origins Does not include many tall structures for climbing to unlock areas of the map.

The game also features revised combat mechanics. Previous titles in the Assassin’s Creed series used a “paired animation system” whereby the player character would engage with an enemy and combat would be dictated by a series of predeterminted animations based on player inputs and scripted AI movements. Assassin’s Creed Origins will move to a “hit-box system”. When the player wields a weapon, they will strike at whatever is in range, allowing them to hit enemies directly, injure individual body parts, and creating the possibility of missing an enemy entirely. Complementing this is the way weapons fall into different categories and are rated on their damage dealt, speed and range. Enemies will be drawn from several basic archetypes that use a variety of tactics in combat which, combined with the hit-box system, will require players to learn the attributes of individual weapons and tailor their playing style to succeed in combat. As enemy combat is also dictated by the hit-box system, the player will be equipped with a shield and will need to balance their offensive and defensive capabilities. Locations within the game world will be designed to enable players to choose their playing style by offering stealth and open combat as equally-viable choices for completing objectives.

Origins introduces an arena-based combat system where the player fights waves of increasingly-difficult combinations of enemies culminating in a boss fight. While the introduction to the arena is incorporated into the main story, the arena mode stands alone from the wider narrative. The game world features several arenas, with a variety of enemy combinations and unique bosses not found in the game world. Players will be able to unlock additional weapons and equipment by completing arena fights.

A future update to the game will add “Discovery Tour”, a sandbox mode allowing players to freely explore the open world with no objectives or combat, and embark on guided tours that highlight aspects of Egyptian history.

After the events of the first game, the Kreisau Circle retrieves the critically injured William “B.J.” Blazkowicz (Brian Bloom) from Deathshead’s fortress before destroying it with a nuclear cannon. Blazkowicz falls into a 5-month long coma and has some of his organs removed to facilitate his survival. As Blazkowicz fades in and out during his coma aboard the Eva’s Hammer (a Nazi U-boat commandeered by the Kreisau Circle), it is revealed that Anya, Blazkowicz’s love interest, is pregnant with twins. The U-boat is attacked by Frau Engel, a sadistic Nazi commander who resents Blazkowicz for disfiguring her and killing her lover, Bubi, in the events of the previous game. Blazkowicz, disoriented and handicapped, fights his way to Anya and Set Roth, and the three proceed to the main deck. Soon after, however, Caroline and Wyatt/Fergus (whoever the player chooses to survive in a flashback sequence) are captured by Engel and her forces. Desperate to save his friends, Blazkowicz devises a plan to get himself captured and taken to Engel’s airship, the Ausmerzer, which is suspending the U-boat above water. There, Frau Engel mocks and beats him, Caroline, and Fergus/Wyatt. She then tries to get her overweight, abused daughter Sigrun to decapitate Caroline, but the former refuses. Frau Engel hits and belittles Sigrun before killing Caroline herself. After Engel taunts Blazkowicz with Caroline’s severed head, Sigrun has a change of heart and tackles Frau Engel, allowing Fergus/Wyatt to break free and Blazkowicz to use Caroline’s bulletproof armor to regain his strength. While Frau Engel escapes, Blazkowicz disconnects the U-boat from the Ausmerzer and flees back to the Eva’s Hammer with Caroline’s body.

After Caroline’s funeral, the group decides to carry out what would have been the next step in Caroline’s plan to undermine the Nazis: liberate the United States and use it as a central base from which to free the rest of the world. The group sets out to contact a resistance group hiding in the Empire State Building in the ruins of New York City, which was destroyed by a Nazi atomic bomb during the final years of this timeline’s WWII. As Blazkowicz’s armor is radiation-proof, he goes alone and finds Grace Walker and her baby (fondly named “Little Abby”), a passionate, scarred African-American, and Norman “Super Spesh” Caldwell, a lawyer-turned-conspiracy theorist. The building is attacked by Nazis and Blazkowicz fends them off before escaping with Grace and Spesh. After returning to the U-boat, Anya confronts Blazkowicz about his cold behavior, as he actively seems to be avoiding her. He reveals that he is dying as a result of his injuries and may not last another week. They are interrupted by Grace, who tells the group of her plan to kill the top Nazi leaders, the Oberkommando, in Roswell, New Mexico near the site of an unearthed Da’at Yichud cache. Blazkowicz travels to Texas disguised as a fireman with a nuclear warhead hidden in his extinguisher. At Spesh’s diner, he is recognised by a Nazi officer but Spesh shoots the officer before he can raise the alarm. Spesh then takes him to his bunker where all his research is, revealing he witnessed the 1947 Roswell Incident. He leads Blazkowicz to a tunnel that goes to the Oberkommando, where he deposits the bomb in the base’s reactor and detonates it.

After escaping, he takes a detour to Mesquite, his hometown. At his home, he picks up an heirloom of his mother’s, a ring, which he was told to give to his love. Blazkowicz’s abusive father Rip, who had heard about his actions in Roswell and assuming he would go back to his family home, then appears and shames him, telling him he is “broken beyond repair” and justifying his abuse of an adolescent Blazkowicz. He also tells Blazkowicz he let his mother be taken by the Nazis because she was Jewish. Blazkowicz’s father reveals that he intends to hand him over to the Nazis; however, Blazkowicz kills him first. Engel, having relied on his Father’s open telephone line to pinpoint the two men’s location, captures Blazkowicz a second time and takes the heirloom for herself. Super Spesh visits a detained Blazkowicz under the guise of his lawyer, telling him of their plan to break him out. However, Frau kills Super Spesh and reveals that she had discovered his ruse. At his trial, Blazkowicz imagines breaking free from his captors and finding his mother, who comforts him and tells him he has one more hardship to endure.

Blazkowicz is sentenced to death and beheaded at the Lincoln Memorial in front of millions in a televised event. However, the Kreisau Circle recovers his head and oxygenates it, preserving it in a glass tank. Set surgically grafts Blazkowicz’s head onto a bioengineered Nazi super-soldier body, freeing Blazkowicz from his previously crippled body. Blazkowicz then breaks into a Nazi bunker hidden under New York, stealing a file on New Orleans, which is revealed to be a large ghetto. Blazkowicz travels there to gather several freedom fighters under the command of communist Horton Boone. They break out of the ghetto and escape on the Eva’s Hammer. After diving, the Kreisau Circle considers stealing the Ausmerzer to prevent its use against the group’s planned revolution, but realize that it would be nearly impossible due to an Automatic Defense system called ODIN. The group plans to steal the codes to deactivate ODIN by traveling to Venus, where the codes are kept in a Nazi facility. Blazkowicz assumes the identity of actor Jules Redfield and is invited to Venus to participate in a propaganda film audition directed by an ailing Adolf Hitler. Blazkowicz retrieves the ODIN codes and returns to Earth to decipher the codes. The Kreisau Circle then mounts an assault on the Ausmerzer, where the resistance members disable ODIN and proceed to hijack its command systems. Blazkowicz and his team travel to the ground, where General Engel is on national television. Blazkowicz brutally executes her to avenge Caroline and Super Spesh, and the resistance proclaims the start of a revolution. In a post-credits scene, Blazkowicz takes back his heirloom ring from Engel’s body and proposes to Anya.

Shadow of War continues the narrative from Shadow of Mordor, following Talion who is still infused with the spirit of the elf lord Celebrimbor. Talion and Celebrimbor travel to Mt. Doom, where they forge a new Ring of Power free of Sauron’s corruption. However, once the Ring is complete, Celebrimbor is abducted and held hostage by Shelob, who asks Talion to hand over the Ring in exchange for Celebrimbor. Talion reluctantly agrees and gives the Ring to Shelob, who claims they have a common enemy in Sauron. She uses the Ring to see into the future and directs Talion to the last Gondorian stronghold in Mordor, Minas Ithil, which is under siege by Sauron’s forces due to the city’s possession of a valuable Palantir. The Palantir would allow whoever possesses it to see anything they wish, making it a valuable tool for Celebrimbor and a dangerous weapon for Sauron.

Talion travels to Minas Ithil and quickly comes to odds with Celebrimbor. Talion wants to help his fellow Gondorians, while Celebrimbor believes the city is already lost and the retrieval of the Palantir must take priority. Talion reasons that protecting Minas Ithil will also protect the Palantir and he meets up with the city’s defenders: General Castamir, his daughter Idril, and his lieutenant Baranor. Together, they sabotage Orcish efforts to break into the city until Castamir betrays them, allowing the Orcs to breach the gates and handing over the Palantir to the Witch King of Angmar in return for sparing Idril. Castamir is killed by the Witch-King and Talion is barely able to escape thanks to the help of Eltariel, an Elven assassin working on Galadriel’s behalf. The Witch King seizes Minas Ithil, renaming it Minas Morgul. With the Palantir, Sauron realizes that Shelob is holding Celebrimbor’s Ring and sends the Nazgûl to attack her. Talion is able to save Shelob, who returns the Ring to him and tells him that the fate of Middle Earth is in his hands.

With the Ring back in his possession, Talion begins to use its power to dominate Orcs and build his army. During this time, he assists Idril and Baranor in rescuing Gondorian survivors, helps the forest god Carnen defeat the Balrog Tar Goroth and the necromancer Zog, is betrayed by one of his followers, and hunts the Nazgûl alongside Eltariel. Eventually, Talion builds up enough strength to assault Sauron’s fortress directly. During the battle, Talion faces Isildur, now corrupted into a Nazgûl. Talion manages to defeat Isildur, but upon seeing his memories of how he was corrupted by the One Ring, decides to destroy Isildur and release his spirit rather than dominate him. Celebrimbor remarks angrily that Isildur would have been a valuable asset to their cause, leading Talion to realize that Celebrimbor wishes to replace Sauron by dominating him rather than destroying him. Talion refuses to follow Celebrimbor’s orders any more, causing the wraith to abandon him and possess Eltariel instead.

Without Celebrimbor or the ring, Talion begins to die, but is visited by Shelob in a vision. Shelob informs him that if Talion had gone on to fight Sauron, they’d have succeeded and Celebrimbor would have enslaved Sauron and marched on the rest of Middle Earth. She implores Talion to continue to fight to contain the darkness within Mordor. Deciding to put his fate in his own hands, Talion picks up the Ring of Power Isildur was wearing to preserve his own life. He then uses the power of Isildur’s Ring to assault and seize Minas Morgul, defeating the Witch King in the process. Talion then takes possession of the Palantir and observes Celebrimbor and Eltariel making their assault on Sauron. The two manage to gain the upper hand and Celebrimbor attempts to dominate Sauron, only for Sauron to cut off Eltariel’s ring finger and merge himself with Celebrimbor. As a result, Sauron and Celebrimbor remain trapped in Sauron’s tower in the form of a flaming eye as their spirits continue to battle for dominance. Talion decides to use Minas Morgul as a fortress to keep Sauron’s forces contained in Mordor.

Decades later, Talion eventually succumbs to the corruption of Isildur’s Ring, and joins Sauron’s forces as a Nazgûl, where he goes with the others to hunt Frodo and the One Ring. However, with the destruction of Sauron and the One Ring, Talion dies with the rest of the Nazgûl and his spirit is freed. He is last seen in the afterlife discarding his weapons and armor as he walks off into the sunrise.

NBA 2K18 is a basketball simulation game which, like the previous games in the series, strives to realistically depict the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as present improvements over the previous installments. The player mainly plays NBA games with real-life or customized players and teams; games follow the rules and objectives of NBA games. Several game modes are present and many settings can be customized. In terms of commentary, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett appear as guest commentators.

Along with the current season’s teams and players, previous games in the series have featured NBA teams from past eras, such as the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls and the 1985–86 Boston Celtics. NBA 2K18 adds seventeen more such teams, including the 2007–08 Denver Nuggets and the 1998–99 New York Knicks, as well as ‘All-Time Teams’, teams for each franchise consisting of the greatest players in the respective franchise’s history.

A staple of the series, MyCareer, returns as one of the available game modes. MyCareer is a career mode in which the player creates their own customizable basketball player and plays through their basketball career. The mode features a storyline which plays out as the player competes in games as well as off-court activities. The creation tools have been overhauled – new hairstyles and body archetypes are available for the player to make use of, among other things.

The game’s returning MyGM and MyLeague game modes, which task the player with managing all basketball operations for a specific team, were a point of emphasis during development. MyGM is more focused on realism, whereas MyLeague offers more customization options. MyGM mode attempts to introduce more cutscene-style interactions than previous games in an attempt to give the mode a storyline, which is dubbed ‘The Next Chapter’, similar to the series’ MyCareer mode. Additionally, several additions have been made to the mode which cater to the NBA’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement, and the NBA G League, the NBA’s official minor league basketball organization, is present.

NBA 2K18 again, for the sixth time in the series, features MyTeam mode, a mode based around the idea of building the ultimate basketball team, and maintaining a virtual trading card collection. Players assemble and play with their team in basketball tournament-style competitions against other players’ teams in several different formats. Assets for a team are acquired through various means, including randomized card packs and the auction house. Virtual Currency (VC) is used extensively in the mode.

The game introduces a new feature to the series, Neighborhoods, which tie into the game’s MyCareer, MyPark, and ProAm game modes. In addition to allowing access to the aforementioned modes, Neighborhoods feature an open world design which players can explore while interacting with other players. Several activities can be completed to raise attributes and the player can purchase items.

Death is visited by Jedah Dohma, who proposes an alliance to achieve equilibrium between life and death on both their worlds. Needing the six Infinity Stones to do so, Death deceives Thanos and Ultron into aiding her, granting Thanos the Space Stone and sending Ultron to retrieve the Reality Stone from Abel City. Sigma intercepts Ultron, and the two forge an alliance. They betray the others and use the Space and Reality Stones to merge the two dimensions and fuse themselves into a single being named “Ultron Sigma”. To wipe out biological life, they begin unleashing an evolved form of the Sigma Virus that turns organic creatures to synthetic beings under their control. An alliance of heroes from both worlds is formed, and they rescue Thanos from imprisonment. They secure him in a containment field at Avengers Tower, but Thor becomes infected and escapes. To gain their trust, Thanos reveals the locations of the remaining four Infinity Stones, and teams of heroes are dispatched to find them.

While Doctor Light, Iron Man, Spencer and Hawkeye build a weapon to harness the Infinity Stones, Ultron Sigma attacks Avengers Tower. In the carnage, Thanos is released and attacks Ultron Sigma, cracking the Reality Stone and forcing him to retreat. As Chris’s team is pursued by the Symbiote, the heroes return to repel it. They use their Stones to destroy the Symbiote and the falling core, but are infected in the process. With hours left until they are turned, the heroes head for Xgard. While one group distracts Ultron Sigma, the rest infiltrate Sigma’s laboratory to finish their weapon, the Infinity Buster. When Thanos learns of Death and Jedah’s partnership, he becomes enraged and betrays the heroes, absorbing Ryu’s Satsui no Hadō before departing. Dante returns to the Dark Kingdom and reclaims the Soul Stone from Jedah. He arrives in Xgard and pretends to surrender the Stone, but because they have no souls, Ultron Sigma is overwhelmed by the Stone and transformed into Ultron Omega. The Soul Stone purges the Sigma Virus within Thor, returning him to normal. The others appear and install the Infinity Buster into X, who uses it to destroy Ultron Omega.

In the aftermath, the virus is neutralized, but because the Reality Stone was cracked, the universes cannot be separated again. The heroes agree to protect the new world and split the Infinity Stones between them to keep them safe. Jedah tells Death that he has another plan, but Thanos arrives seeking vengeance against them. Believing the Satsui no Hadō is capable of killing Death, he attacks them with a Hadouken.

One year after the end of the SIVA Crisis, Cabal forces of the Red Legion sever external communications throughout the Solar System and launch a full-scale aerial assault on the Last City, destroying a main portion of the Tower. The Guardian and Ghost respond and assist in the evacuation of civilians, but while assaulting the Cabal command ship of Dominus Ghaul, the military emperor of the Cabal, he attaches a massive mining device to the Traveler and drains it of the Light, a special form of power used by the Guardians. The Guardian loses their powers and is severely wounded by Ghaul. Waking two days after the attack, the Guardian locates their Ghost and the two escape the City and find a safe haven known as The Farm in the European Dead Zone (EDZ) with the assistance of Suraya Hawthorne, a human who lived on the outskirts of the City.

The Guardian follows a vision they experienced and encounter a shard of the Traveler in a hidden forest within the EDZ. Ghost interfaces with the shard and its Light is restored. In doing so, Ghost is successful in restoring the Guardian’s Light as well. After completing a series of missions to restore long range communications, Hawthorne intercepts a distress call from Commander Zavala, urging any surviving guardians to make their way to Saturn’s moon Titan to assist in mounting a counter-offensive. It is shown that Ghaul has captured the Speaker, and wishes to carry favor with the Traveler, having taken an interest in harnessing and learning the power of the Light.

The Guardian travels to the former human colony on Titan, only to learn it has been overrun by the Hive. Tasked to complete a series of missions for Commander Sloane, power is successfully restored to the facility and Zavala summons the Guardian to retrieve Cabal intelligence for analysis. After doing so, it is revealed that the Red Legion was dispatched to the Milky Way in response to the distress call sent by the Skyburners Regiment during the Taken War two years prior. It is also learned that Ghaul, their commander, is undefeated and possesses a superweapon known as the Almighty, an orbital space station with a drilling platform capable of destroying stars. Anyone who has resisted Cabal rule in their system has subsequently had their star drained and their star system destroyed in the process. Ghaul implores the Speaker, under duress from torture, to tell him how to commune with the Traveler; the Speaker responds that Ghaul is not worthy of the Light and that the Traveler will never deem him worthy. Regardless, Ghaul refuses to kill the Speaker, stating his intention to torture him until he reveals how to commune with the Traveler. Zavala tasks the Guardian to find Ikora Rey and Cayde-6 to assist in facilitating a counterattack to retake the Last City.

The Guardian locates Cayde-6 on the centaur planet Nessus and Ikora on Jupiter’s moon Io. After eliminating Vex and Taken threats at each location, the team reunites at The Farm and conclude that the only way to retake the City and save the Traveler will be to shut down the Almighty first, to eliminate the possibility of the Red Legion destroying the Solar System in the event of their failure. The Guardian proceeds to kill Thumos the Unbroken, the Cabal officer in possession of access codes to a ship that will allow them to access the Almighty. The Guardian is successful in hijacking the ship and subsequently boards the base, eventually destroying the weapon, which also blows up the ship in the process. During this time, the Consul, Ghaul’s mentor, urges Ghaul to take the Light, but Ghaul is reluctant until the Consul has the Speaker tortured to death. Ghaul then proclaims that he will take the Light and strangles the Consul in a fit of rage.

The Guardian returns to Earth to assist in the counterattack and, after a short rendezvous with Cayde, Ikora, Zavala and Hawthorne, infiltrates Ghaul’s command ship alone to face him and save the Traveler. Ghaul forcibly takes the Light and uses its power against the Guardian, but the Guardian is successful in killing Ghaul, who reincarnates as a massive ethereal figure who then speaks to the Traveler directly. In doing so, the Traveler wakes from its sleep, destroying the device that was harvesting its power, and then destroys Ghaul himself, sending a massive shockwave across the planet, restoring the Light and ending Ghaul’s threat forever. The game ends with a posthumous voiceover from the Speaker, reminding those who would oppose the Light may try, but that it can never be stopped.

In a post-credits scene, the shockwave sent by the Traveler is revealed to have encapsulated the entire system, ushering in a second Golden Age, before panning across a fleet of dark unknown ships sitting on the edge of dark space. After this, it is revealed that a lower, undamaged portion of the Tower has been reopened (and once again a social space), with the Vanguard returning to their old posts.

In India, treasure hunter Chloe Frazer has enlisted the services of mercenary Nadine Ross to help her find the legendary tusk of Ganesh, son of Hindu God of destruction Shiva, who lost the trunk while defending his father’s temple, a search that previously consumed Chloe’s own father before eventually claiming his life. Aided by a young merchant named Mheenu, whose father is in the Indian army, Chloe moves past an insurgent group and meets up with Nadine, who helps her sneak into the office of the insurgents’ leader, Asav, who’s also after the tusk, ostensibly planning to use it to rally the people into revolution. The two steal a map made by an unknown expert pointing toward the tusk within the ancient Hoysala empire and a disc that acts as a key before escaping Asav’s forces.

The map leads them to India’s Western Ghats, where they follow the trail of several towers emblazoned with Hindu weapons- Ganesh’s trident, Shiva’s bow, and the axe of Parashurama, who used the axe to remove the tusk. The trail eventually leads them to the smaller of Hoysala’s two capitals, Halebidu, whose last emperor left unguarded to be conquered by the Persians seemingly out of vanity. However, they soon learn it’s actually because the emperor left a false trail; the tusk is really at the larger capital, Belur. On the way there, they are attacked by Asav and his men and after a fight, they barely escape, but lose the disc.

Though Chloe is injured, they carry on, hoping to regain the disc. However, while spying on Asav’s forces, Nadine sees her old enemy Sam Drake, Nathan Drake’s, (Chloe’s old friend and former partner) brother, and realizes he’s Asav’s expert. When she expresses her intention to kill Sam, Chloe reveals she was working with him before he was kidnapped, necessitating her hiring of Nadine. As Chloe previously said she didn’t know Sam that well, this deception angers Nadine, but they eventually make amends. The two make it to Belur and manage to navigate several puzzles before being captured by Asav. He brings them to a central chamber where Sam is and forces Chloe to use the disc to reveal the tusk, which is covered in jewels. In the process, she discovers that Ganesh let Parashurama cut off his tusk, as Shiva gifted the axe to him and Ganesh didn’t want to shame his father by proving the axe useless.

With the tusk in hand, Asav triggers a trap and leaves the three to drown, though some quick lockpicking from Chloe helps them to escape. Despite tensions between Nadine and Sam, the three chase after Asav to take back the tusk. Along the way, Nadine is shocked and enraged to find that Asav is working with Shoreline, the group she used to run and was hoping to take back after this job. They come across a deal between Asav and Orca, Nadine’s former lieutenant who now runs Shoreline, where Asav trades the tusk for something huge that he loads onto a train. After a fight with Orca riding in a helicopter, the three bring the helicopter down and make the dying mercenary reveal what Asav purchased: a massive bomb he plans to detonate in the capital city and kickstart the revolution. Tired of running when a situation gets too dangerous, Chloe convinces the others to help her stop the bomb.

Commandeering a car, the three catch up to the train. Sam stays behind while the women hop on and fight through Asav’s men. Eventually seeing a switch that will turn the train towards a collapsed bridge, Chloe hops off the train while Nadine stays behind and, with Sam’s help, turns the switch before going back for Nadine. The two make it to the engine car, where the bomb is, and fight Asav. They eventually trap his leg under the bomb and jump to safety before the train falls off the bridge and explodes, killing Asav. Safe and with the tusk in hand, Chloe and Nadine decide to go into business together while Sam reacts with horror to their intentions to hand the tusk over to the Ministry of Culture, who won’t likely pay them a lot of money.

The game will be released on August 25, 2017, although those who pre-ordered the “G.O.A.T. Edition” were able to play it three days earlier. It will be the first game of the series since Madden NFL 2005 to not be released on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and also the first game in the main series to be available on only two platforms since Madden NFL ’94.

Madden NFL 18 will introduce a story mode known as Longshot, which follows Devin Wade, a quarterback from Mathis, Texas, as he tries to reach the NFL, and will include high school games and college games, as well as the NFL Scouting Combine. It will be the first game in the series to use the Frostbite engine.

We are back all together and recording in 1 room. Yes, we have escaped our rooms as everyone is clear and ready to go. We look at how Hollywood and Video Games have such a strong love hate relationship and why so many games have turned into crap movies. Be sure to follow us at Website: http://www.gamenightlounge.wordpress.com | Twitter: @gamenightlounge : @ […]

We are back, and even though we are still sick and stuck at home we made online recording happen again. This week we look at Metal Gear Survive, the attack of video games for violence among teens, and the proposed tax hike of M Rated games. Be sure to follow us at Website: http://www.gamenightlounge.wordpress.com | Twitter: @gamenightlounge : @kodxfactor : @ […]

We are back after being off for three weeks due to a work trip, and two weeks of the FLU making its rounds to everyone on the staff! We get back on track and take a look at the Olympics going on right now, and the life of Disney and who is bigger. The success of Black Panther, and we are also joined by our Canadian friend Briggs! Be sure to follow us at Webs […]

The crew is back at it with Merc joining us back at the table! We talk about a couple of worldly news stories and then we take a in depth look, and sometimes a bit harsh look at the world of Hardcore games and Casual! What is what and what are the differences and it does create a divide among us! What are your thoughts! Be sure to follow us at Website: http […]

We are back with a brand new episode and this week we look at some old 80 and early 90 TV shows and cartoons! We also take a look at some big gaming news stories that have popped up as of late. We also find a way to track back to early 80’s cartoons! Thanks Big Boss for the little game in the second segment! Be sure to follow us at Website: http://www.gameni […]

We are back to take a re-cap of 2017 and look at our Top games of 2017 and biggest disapointments. We also look at how each of us spent our holidays! We also look forward t othe new year and what we want to see happen, and not just gaming wise! Be sure to follow us at Website: http://www.gamenightlounge.wordpress.com | Twitter: @gamenightlounge : @kodxfacto […]

It is almost Christmas time, and as we may be off next week due to the holiday we know everyone will be celebrating with family and loved ones! We look at the hustle and bustle of Holiday shopping and shipping with all of the online orders going on! We also talk about the newly released PUBG on Xbox One and all of its early issues! Be sure to follow us at We […]

We are back with a full table and we go over a couple of quick news stories around the world, and then we take in depth look at the 2017 Video Game Awards and the PSX showcase! Be sure to follow us at Website: http://www.gamenightlounge.wordpress.com | Twitter: @gamenightlounge : @kodxfactor : @gametruckguy : @munkeysworld1 : @bluediamondben | Youtube: The G […]

Big Boss and the guys are back as we inch closer to Christmas and the “Game Awards” as they approach this week. We are very optomistic about how bad the show is going to be, but we do talk about Capcom’s surprise announcements about their Mega Man franchise! We also look at EA and their in-excusable actions with the Microtransactions as they are now being im […]

The crew is back after a stellar Thanksgiving and we hope you all did to. We talk Turkey Day and talk about our horrible Black Friday experiences. We do go off on a little bit of a rant about the state of GameStop after seeing one of their stores after almost a year! Be sure to follow us at Website: http://www.gamenightlounge.wordpress.com | Twitter: @gameni […]